Croatia's ruling conservatives win parliamentary seats without majority

The Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) led by Andrej Plenkovic has won 60 seats in the 151-member Croatian parliament in the recent election. This is a decrease from the 66 seats they secured in the previous 2020 election. The HDZ faced tough competition from an alliance of centrist and left-wing parties, including those led by populist President Zoran Milanovic and his Social Democratic Party (SDP). With over 90% of the ballots counted, the state electoral commission reported these results. There is anticipation for intense negotiations in the coming days to form a government.